“The Olympic Trials are what, two years away? So I guess I have the advantage right now, but I’m certainly not going to rest on that,” Kirk said. “I’m sure there are other girls, some who I might not even know of right now, who are going to be there. So (this win) is an opportunity, but it’s not one I’m going to take advantage of.”
In the final individual race of the evening, Erik Vendt (North Eastin, Mass.) of Club Wolverine outlasted Olympic silver medalist and American record-holder Larsen Jensen (Bakersfield, Calif.) of Trojan Swim Club in the 1500m free, 15:05.41 to 15:11.11. Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) of Club Wolverine was third in 15:14.78.
Jensen jumped out to a lead, only to have Vendt creep up on him at 800 meters and move ahead at the 1100-meter mark. Vendt built his lead to a body length by 1200 meters and cruised home.
The first man under 15 minutes in the 1500, Vendt has returned from a brief retirement following the 2004 Olympics.
“A year ago I was in Europe, backpacking with my best friends,” Vendt said. “I wasn’t doing anything over there but enjoying the good life, and I said, ‘Looks like I’m done swimming.” The thought didn’t creep back into my mind until December of this past year, and when it did, I couldn’t get it out. That’s when I realized I wasn’t done with this sport.”
With the meet wrapping up Saturday, Phelps and North Baltimore’s Katie Hoff won the men’s and women’s Kiphuth Award as the highest individual scorers of the meet.
Team Standings
In the women’s team standings, Club Wolverine took the top spot with 288 points, followed by California Aquatics with 279.5 points and Tucson Ford Dealer Aquatics 182 points. On the men’s side, Club Wolverine again took the top spot with 524 points, followed by Longhorn Aquatics with 430.5 points and Minnesota with 136 points. The overall team title went to Club Wolverine with 812 points, followed by Longhorn Aquatics with 598.5 points and Tucson Ford Dealer Aqutics with 296 points.
